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Legacy of The Doctor
Legacy of the Doctor was an 8-part event series of the long-running TV show, Doctor Who. The first to be helmed by veteran BBC writer Sarah Phelps, this series marks the return of Russell T Davies for the first time since 2010 and Jenny Colgan's Doctor Who TV debut. Background After Blood of the Universe concluded, the BBC initially considered rebooting the series due to the very final nature of the finale. However, producers in Cardiff opposed this and insisted that the show will be revamped and not rebooted. The first hints of a revamp came when the previous season's writers Neil Gaiman and Mark Gatiss both confirmed they would step back from the show for the upcoming next season. At that year's BBC Festival, producer Steven Moffat confirmed that Sarah Phelps had been offered the showrunner position by BBC Cymru | Wales and she had accepted. Phelps made a surprise appearance at the panel to confirm her writing staff. Surprises included the return of Russell T Davies and the absence of Steven Moffat. Moffat then confirmed he had decided to leave the series, but would continue as creative consultant. Also at the panel, Moffat revealed that for the 55th anniversary, acclaimed composer John Williams had reworked the Doctor Who opening theme music for the next series and the new mix was 'delightful'. Casting began shortly after the announcement and a subtitle for the series was announced on the official Doctor Who Twitter account, Legacy of the Doctor. The teaser tagline was New Friends, Old Foes suggesting that while several new characters would debut and several villains would return. Phelps, however, did reveal that the Daleks would not be back for the new series, at least not in a large capacity. The BBC confirmed that Peter Capaldi would return and he was interviewed by Zoe Ball and Rufus Hound in the BBC special Doctor Who Live: The New Companion. For the first time in Doctor Who history, only 3 people knew the identity of The Doctor's new assistant. Sarah Phelps, Andy Pryor and the companion themselves. Zoe Ball and Rufus Hound were told seconds before the reveal and Peter Capaldi was set to meet his new co-star that evening. The new companion was revealed to be portrayed by British actor Jonathan Bailey, best known for Broadchurch and W1A. He would not be reprising his series 8 role of Psi in Time Heist but would be playing Conor, a journalist at a notable news website determined to do an exposé on The Doctor. Capaldi and Bailey revealed they were both delighted by the news and fans embraced the new casting. Emma Thompson confirmed her return the following Autumn, revealing she signed on for at least 5 episodes and would be joined by a companion of her own, yet to be cast, currently under the working name of Obulus. Phelps confirmed this and revealed Obulus would be a CGI orb with the voice of Joanna Lumley. Lumley later confirmed that despite not filming her role directly, she would join the cast on set and record her vocals there. Filming began in January 2018, but the main cast excluding Jonathan Bailey had lent their voices to a half-hour animated prologue that aired on Christmas Day 2017. Cast TBA Episodes TBA Behind the Scenes TBA